In pictures: Logitech G602 unpacked

The G602 uses Logitech's latest G-series branding and packaging, as introduced earlier this year. We wanted to see if the internals really matched the 'X-ray' cutaway on the packaging, but the G602 doesn't appear even remotely disassemblible.

We like the form-fitting plastic packaging on the mouse - if you're shopping in a physical store, it lets you check the G602's fit to your hand, even if there's no display model available.
This is not one of those adjustable models with interchangeable grips, so if it's too big or too small for you to hold comfortably, it's a write-off.

Yo Dawg, we heard you like boxes, so we put a box in your box so you can unpack while you unpack.

Pleasantly light on the sub-accessories (Yo Dawg, we heard you like peripherals...)
The G602 comes with a little setup booklet, USB receiver to plug into your PC, and a USB extension cable that lets you put the receiver on your desk, closer to the mouse.

The extension cable, which has a little sticker insisting you use it ONLY FOR THE G602 RECEIVER AND NOT FOR ANYTHING ELSE, proves unnecessary if you have a laptop.

Aww, they're getting along so well. Okay, bored now, back to the mouse that we actually paid for.
Well... borrowed for a week or two, in our case.

The G602 has a rubberised palm rest with an inset pattern of lines for extra grip. The thumb, little-finger and heel rests all have a rough plastic finish, which is both comfortable and super-grippy.

From the top, you can see the G602 follows a fairly standard mouse design, with the thumb-shelf on the left that's common among gaming versions. Also like the majority of gaming pointers, the G602 is strictly for the right-handed.

Though there's a great thumb-rest on the left, there's no corresponding rest for your little finger on the right-hand side. This is a common problem - I found my little finger either dragging along the desk (causing friction and occasionally being run-over by the mouse), or curled up awkwardly against the side.

From the front, the G602 looks like a cross between a vehicle from Tron, and some sort of Klingon weapon.
Our early lab tests have shown its sharp-looking point to be sub-par as a stabbing implement, so this might not be one for those ultra-high-stakes LAN events where rule-disputes or pre-match trash talk could turn physical.

The G602 boasts 11 programmable buttons, including six thumb-buttons on the left-hand edge. Again, this is one for the right-handed.

The mouse comes pre-loaded with batteries, and one of those pull-tabs that keep them from draining away between the factory and your desk. Sometimes it's the small things - sure, it only saved us twenty seconds or less, but it's cool that we didn't even have to put the batteries in.

The G602 runs on disposable AA batteries. Two Duracell (i.e. good, not ultracheap no-brand) batteries are included.
Logitech claims up to 250 hours in 'performance mode' (high-speed polling for gaming), and up to 1440 hours in 'endurance mode' (normal wireless-mouse performance for day-to-day computing).
Those numbers equate to:
Performance mode: 62 days at 4 hours/day, 31 days at 8 hours/day, 10 days at 24 hours/day
Endurance mode: 360 days at 4 hours/day, 180 days at 8 hours/day, 60 days at 24 hours/day
There's an on/off switch at the bottom, which based on the battery life for 24 hour/day runtime, we'd recommend using.

We found the G602 fits very comfortably in the hand, though this will depend entirely on the size of your hands.

The front thumb buttons are easy to activate, though the top button does require you to lift your thumb to reach.

The rear thumb buttons require a slightly uncomfortable contortion of the thumb, which reduces your aiming control a little at the same time.
However, more dexterous gamers can activate the rear buttons with the heel of your thumb, which requires less contortion and doesn't reduce your control nearly as much.

The middle buttons can be activated with the heel or side of your thumb, but it's easy to hit the front or rear buttons mistakenly whilst doing this.
The easiest way to hit those G5 and G8 centre/side buttons is to move your thumb back a little, and press them directly. You retain reasonable aiming control when doing this.

Switching between 'performance mode' and 'endurance mode' is simple, with a dedicated switch and indicator light on the top of the mouse behind the scroll wheel. Green means 'endurance'.

The blue light atop the mouse means 'performance', which we'd recommend you switch off once you're done gaming, in order to save battery life.
That's the end of the beginning of our testing process. Now, time for gaming. We'll get back to you later in the week with a full review. Early impression: right-handed FPS gamers are going to enjoy this one, as long as the performance is there.

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